sasquatch chronicles blog

On November 5, 1975, in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest near Snowflake, Arizona, a group of seven loggers—including Travis Walton were driving home after work. According to their account, they saw a glowing, disc-shaped object hovering in the woods.

Walton reportedly got out of the truck to get a closer look. As he approached, a bright beam of light shot out from the object and struck him, knocking him to the ground. The other men panicked and drove away, believing he had been killed. When they returned shortly after, Walton was gone.

A listener writes “I was on your show about two years ago regarding my investigations into the potential paranormal aspects of the Bigfoot phenomenon. I would like to update you on my efforts (Quantum Bridge Project) and the progress we’ve made to date.

As you know, I used to be the State Director for the Virginia Chapter of the Mutual UFO Network and investigated numerous UFO sighting reports to include purported “abduction” cases. I transitioned to the paranormal realm because of the apparent similarities in certain cases. I’ve been with the Center for Paranormal Research and Investigations (CPRI) for the past twenty-four years and, within the past eight years, started conducting “cryptid” research for the same aforementioned reasons.

I chose CPRI because of their philosophy and the way they approached the paranormal using the scientific method. The organization has MDs, PhDs in sociology, educators, nurses, chemists, current and former law enforcement officers, etc. CPRI is a Virginia 501(c) nonprofit, educational organization with a Board of Directors.

I approached their Board with a written research proposal requesting that we investigate the “cryptid” phenomena in the same fashion they approach the paranormal; using certain specialized instrumentation and equipment like thermal imaging/ recording devises, remote data loggers designed to measure various EM/ radiological fields, and certain environmental conditions. My proposal involved locating a potentially credible cryptid investigator and working with them in their respected field research areas in order to capture supporting data during a sighting. This would not only validate that something is actually occurring, but to potentially explain certain aspects of the phenomenon. I’ve attached this particular proposal for your reference.

One of my investigators located Harley Owens; a fairly new cryptid investigator in the East Tennessee area. Some of his sightings have been validated by other independent investigators, so I decided to work with him. His research area is near Cosby, TN, which is one of the areas the late Scott Carpenter used to investigate. Over the past two years, Ive independently investigated this area with Harley to further gauge his credibility before devoting CPRI resources to this geographical area. During that time, I’ve seen strange tree structures, heard screams, roars, and strange “barn owl” sounds, I have also seen those infamous” lights” that are seemingly associated with the Bigfoot phenomenon.

On one occasion, I saw one of these “lights” at night on my thermal imager. It was moving intelligently through the forest. Interestingly enough, when I tried to see the light without the thermal, it wasn’t visible. When I looked through the thermal, it would reappear, indicating it had some type of invisible heat source. Harley was next to me and wanted to see the light through the thermal. When he looked through it, he saw the light and, as it approached a dirt road, he said the light “transformed” into an upright being exhibiting a heat signature. It walked across the road and up an incline towards an adjacent knoll. I didn’t see this; however, about one minute later, I heard a loud scream and an “owl’ like vocal come from this same knoll. This scream was extremely loud and lasted about two to three seconds. It also sounded like some type of primate. It was immediately followed by an “owl” vocal, which didn’t seem right.

On another investigation in July of 2024, Harley and I were in his research area one night when we heard a loud, very intimidating roar (not scream) coming from another Ridgeline adjacent to a cemetery, which is the apparent focal point of the activity. This roar was so intimidating and loud, we were concerned for our safety. You could actually feel “rage” coming from whatever made it. I’ve never heard anything quite like it before, so we decided to pack everything up in order to make a quick exit if the situation called for it. We didn’t stay too much longer before we left the area.

As you probably know, these so called “orb” sightings are very common in both Bigfoot and paranormal cases, which leads me to some information you and your listeners may find very interesting. Back in 2003, CPRI investigated a case near Bedford, VA. This case involved a lady who lived on a farm in a double wide home. The lady reported seeing shadows, hearing voices and reported poltergeist type activity throughout the house. During the course of our investigation, she related an incident that occurred in the early 80s. She was getting ready for bed, had just turned off the bedroom lights when she saw three “orbs” hovering in a level, straight line at the foot of her bed. They appeared to be the size of a softball and each exhibited a different color; one was orange, one was light blue and the last was reddish They emitted light and then moved in unison (line formation) down her hallway and made a 90 degree left turn into her dinning room. She immediately went to the dinning room to see where they went and couldn’t locate them. It was as if they just disappeared.

The following morning, she went back into the dinning room and noticed three circular discolored/ burnt marks on her window screen. She believed these orbs went through the screen because they weren’t there before, the window was left open and each mark was about the same size of these orbs. We asked her about the screen and, fortunately, she had rolled it up and kept it in her barn and forgot about it. We went to the barn and she pulled it out. The screen still had these three strange marks on it, so we asked if we could have it analyzed. She agreed, so we gave it to one of our members who happened to be a Radiochemist and worked for a federal lab in eastern Virginia. He’s no longer with CPRI, so I’m not at liberty to divulge his name or where he worked without permission. He took the screen to his lab for analysis. A few weeks later, he sent us a report with his findings, which were intriguing. I’ve attached a document containing excerpts of his report to keep him and his employer’s information confidential.

According to the report, the discolored sections of the screen were highly irradiated. The areas were so irradiated we decided to ask the lady some health questions. Around the same time as the orb incident, she did experience bad flu symptoms, nausea, fever and general weakness, which lasted about a week or two. She thought it was just the flu, but did reveal additional information that brings doubt to that conclusion. A few years later, the had to have hip replacement surgery. After the surgery, the doctor asked if she had ever had radiation therapy. When she said no, the doctor said the bone structure of her hip was porous. It appeared to have been subjected to a type of radiation. Apparently she may have been exposed to a great deal of radiation that night. This is not to say that all orb phenomena contains radioactive properties, but it appears these lights did.

In March of 2025, I assembled a team from CPRI and we (along with Harley) conducted a preliminary investigation of the Cosby site. The team consisted of Harley, myself, an archeologist, University Professor and another retired law enforcement officer. We did take some instrumentation with us. During the course of three days, we found several unusual tree structures, interviewed a resident in the area and conducted night surveillance. The primary location was the site of an old cemetery, which seems to be the focal point of the activity. We were able to witness unusual light activity in the cemetery. This took the form of small red points of moving light. Another larger red light was also seen depending in a straight line towards the same Ridgeline that the “roar” was heard a year earlier. Our archeologist witnessed a large, indistinct dark mass cross in front of him through the cemetery. He was wearing an Apple Smart Watch with embedded bio sensor at the time. He was able to pull the heart rate data from the watch and, at the exact time he witnessed this event. His heart rate jumped from 66 BPM to 124 BPM. On one occasion, our professor also witnessed a small green light hovering about thirty feet above the cemetery. These lights couldn’t readily be explained. They didn’t match the will-o-the-wisp (swamp methane gas ignition) phenomena because the weather was cool, it hadn’t rained, low humidity and most of the colors seen were red instead of the signature faint blue-violet glow.”

Grapevine Documentaries writes “Towering over Northern California, Mount Shasta has long been a place of legend—and fear. This episode of National Park Secrets & Legends explores chilling reports of disappearances, strange creatures, and unexplained phenomena deep within the surrounding forest. Rooted in ancient Karuk Indian traditions, stories speak of powerful unseen spirits inhabiting the mountain.

But beyond folklore, darker theories emerge—suggesting secret experiments and hidden forces operating in one of America’s most mysterious landscapes. Is Mount Shasta a sacred site, a paranormal hotspot, or something far more unsettling?”

OPB writes “Indigenous peoples of the Nch’i-Wána, or Columbia River, know Bigfoot not as a monster but as a protector, a spiritual being that walks between the seen and unseen.

For thousands of years, oral histories of Bigfoot have been passed down as a knowledge system, rooting Pacific Northwest tribes in respect, reverence and relationship with the land. Amidst mainstream portrayals of Bigfoot, this film offers instead an Indigenous perspective on the world’s most famous cryptid—as a relative rather than myth.

Featuring the lived experiences of world champion jingle dancer Acosia Red Elk, artist Toma Villa, tribal council member Carlos Calica and anthropologist Phil Cash Cash, with an original score by Geneviève Gros-Louis.”

Absolute History writes “Scott Wolter does not believe in Bigfoot–but he sure hears about it a lot. That’s because the earliest Bigfoot sightings were supposedly recorded in–guess what? Rocks. Bigfoot sightings are pervasive along the West coast, but lately, reports of the big beast have started popping up in Minnesota–his home state–and he heads to investigate.

Entering into the investigation as a skeptic–which is not a role we often see Scott in–he decides to tackle the question of whether Bigfoot is real. He goes in search of proof, checking out rock paintings of Bigfoot in California and even traveling to Nepal where he meets with a Sherpa who tells him he’s seen the Yeti, an Asiatic “cousin” of Bigfoot that still roams the Himalayas, with his own eyes. So in the end, will Scott become a believer?”

liff Barackman, James “Bobo” Fay, and Matt Pruitt answer your questions in this new Q&A episode! If you would like to submit a question for a future Q&A episode, please use the contact form or voicemail link https://www.bigfootandbeyondpodcast.com/contact.

From The Shadows writes “A Bigfoot type disappeared walking across a field in Northwest Ohio. A nighttime investigation by the BFRO has led to more questions than answers.

Turns out there is so much more going on in this part of the state. Leah shares many more paranormal encounters that happened on her families land that had multiple eyewitnesses.”

A listener writes “In 1987, I believe I had a Bigfoot encounter. My cousin DJ and I were planning to meet his brother Barry at Lake Serene in Washington. It’s a popular hike, and a beautiful one when you come out of the woods, there’s a small lake, and across it you can see a glacier peeking over the mountains.

Barry headed out early Friday morning, but DJ and I had to work a closing shift at a pizza delivery place. We didn’t leave until around 12:30 a.m., and it was after 1:00 a.m. when we got onto Highway 2. We passed through Monroe, Sultan, Startup, and Gold Bar. Just before Index, we turned onto an old logging road off the highway.

Eventually we reached a gravel parking lot. As we pulled in, DJ spotted his brother’s car, so we parked next to it. When we got out, there was a terrible smell but not the kind people usually describe. To me, it smelled like stale, rotting saltwater and dead fish, which didn’t make sense since we were nowhere near the ocean.

We walked around Barry’s car and found his campsite. There was a small dome tent, a fire pit, and a few chairs but everything was disturbed. The chairs were knocked over, and the tent was flipped upside down.

DJ said, “This looks like my brother’s stuff,” then picked up a chair, sat down, and opened a beer.

I grabbed another chair and sat down. “Do we have a flashlight?” I asked.

“Nope,” he said. “We’ll have to hike in the morning.” Then he started building a fire.

A little while later, as we sat there drinking, we noticed a tree at the edge of the parking lot start shaking violently. It was about 30 feet tall and maybe 6 to 8 inches thick at the base. We stared at it until it stopped.

A few minutes later, another tree started shaking this one closer to us by a few trees.

I turned to say, “What the hell is that?” but DJ was already gone. He had walked around Barry’s car and gotten inside. I followed, moving slowly. Just as I opened the door, another tree started shaking, and I jumped into the car.

DJ leaned his seat back and said, “Time for bed,” like nothing was wrong.

About 20 minutes later, I was staring straight ahead. There was a large Y-shaped tree, and in the split of the Y I saw two red lights like laser points about a foot apart. They didn’t move closer or farther from each other, but sometimes one or both would disappear, like blinking eyes.

It felt like it was watching me… and somehow responding.

I tested it. I blinked one eye, and one of the lights disappeared, then came back. I blinked the other eye the other light vanished, then returned. Then I blinked both eyes, and both lights disappeared and came back again.

At that point, I was convinced I was looking at something alive.

I tilted my head to one side and whatever it was did the same. I tilted the other way, and it followed again.

Then DJ suddenly tapped my arm, turned on the headlights, and pointed.

The tree was empty. Nothing was there.

I didn’t sleep much that night. I kept wondering what I had seen. It seemed too small to be an owl, and the eyes were too far apart to match anything I knew. If it was Bigfoot, I figured it had to be at least six feet tall.

The next morning, we hiked up toward the lake. It was incredibly hot. I stopped at a stream to splash water on my face and ended up taking a few sips.

When we reached the lake, we found Barry. DJ joked that Bigfoot had trashed his campsite. The place was busy campers everywhere and there were even people up near the glacier. Fish were jumping all over the lake.

But on the hike back down, I started feeling sick. I thought maybe I picked up something from the stream or maybe it was something else. I kept thinking about the night before. Was I really communicating with it, or was it all in my head?

Back at the car, I went behind the tree where I’d seen the lights, looking for footprints. That’s when I realized something: the parking lot had been built up about two feet higher than the surrounding ground.

Whatever I had seen wasn’t six feet tall.

It was more like eight.

On the drive home along Highway 2, I kept getting sick, opening the car door and throwing up on the side of the road the whole way back.

And to this day, I still don’t know exactly what I saw but I’ve never forgotten it.”

One of the most widely discussed Yeren sightings happened in 1976 in Shennongjia Forest District.  The incident is considered one of the most notable modern sightings and contributed to subsequent scientific investigations in the region.

Report Title: Alleged Yeren Sighting – 1976 Incident
Location: Shennongjia Forest District
Date: Spring–Summer 1976 (exact date varies by account)
Report Type: Eyewitness testimony and field observation

1. Summary

In 1976, a group of government officials traveling through a remote mountainous area of Shennongjia reported encountering an unidentified bipedal creature consistent with descriptions of the “Yeren” (wild man). The incident is considered one of the most notable modern sightings and contributed to subsequent scientific investigations in the region.

2. Witnesses

• Six government officials (names largely undocumented in public records)
• Notable witness: Zhang Shuhai

3. Environmental Conditions

• Time: Dusk / early evening
• Visibility: Limited; reliant on vehicle headlights
• Terrain: Forested mountain road with dense vegetation
• Weather: Not consistently recorded; presumed clear or lightly overcast

4. Description of the Entity

Witnesses described the observed figure as follows:

• Height: Approximately 6–7 feet (1.8–2.1 meters)
• Posture: Upright, bipedal locomotion
• Body: Covered in reddish-brown hair
• Limbs: Long arms extending below waist level
• Movement: Slow, deliberate walking; no signs of panic
• Behavior: Briefly stationary under illumination, then retreated into forest

5. Sequence of Events

1. Vehicle traveling along mountain road at dusk
2. Witnesses observed a tall figure standing ahead on the road
3. Driver reduced speed; headlights illuminated the subject
4. Entity remained stationary for several seconds
5. Entity turned and walked off the road into dense forest
6. Witnesses stopped vehicle and exited to investigate

6. Physical Evidence Reported

• Footprints:
  • Estimated length: ~16 inches (40 cm)
  • Shape: Human-like, elongated
  • Depth: Deep impressions in soft ground
• Vegetation disturbance:
  • Broken branches at elevated heights
  • Signs of passage by a large, upright organism

No verified photographs, biological samples, or casts from this specific incident were formally preserved.

7. Follow-Up Actions

• The report contributed to organized research expeditions in Shennongjia during the late 1970s
• Teams collected additional anecdotal accounts, hair samples, and footprint casts across the region
• No conclusive scientific identification of a new species was established

FOX 4 LA writes “Tearjerking footage captured the beautiful moment a chimpanzee and her newborn baby were reunited after being separated for nearly two days. Mahale and her new baby, Kucheza, which means “play” in Swahili, had to be separated following an emergency C-section.

The Sedgwick County Zoo located in Wichita, Kansas, recorded the beautiful moment Mahale was able to finally hold her newborn baby for the first time and we’re all crying. In the video, which was shared on the zoo’s official Facebook account, Mahale is seen entering her enclosure where Kucheza is patiently waiting in a nest of blankets.

At first, Mahale, carrying a white patterned blanket, appears apprehensive. She is then seen lifting herself upright a tad in order to see what is in the pile of blankets when suddenly, a tiny little hand stretches outward. Mahale appears to immediately recognize that little hand and snaps into “mom mode” and picks up her baby and embraces him tightly. One of Mahale’s keepers can be heard in the background of the video audibly crying (as we all probably would) and applauding Mahale for doing a great job.

“It’s one of the most powerful things I’ve ever seen. She knows it’s her baby laying there. The baby is being very still, she’s looking at it like, ‘What’s going on,’ and once he moves, you see the relief and the love and just, oh my gosh, it’s just amazing. As a mom myself, it’s just, oh my gosh,” the zoo’s communications director, Jennica King, told FOX TV Stations.

Kucheza was born on Nov. 15 after Mahale’s labor was taking a little longer than normal, according to King. Doctors decided to move ahead with a C-section but Kucheza was having trouble breathing after being born. He was taken by the veterinary team to be observed and Mahale was returned to her enclosure. Once the baby was cleared to return to his mother, Kucheza was transferred back to the chimpanzee enclosure where Mahale could see him but only through a mesh screen until keepers felt it was safe to fully reunite them.

Mahale and Kucheza are “doing great,” according to a recent post following their reunion.

This is Mahale’s third baby.”

North American Bigfoot Center writes “This video was originally published in January 2023. For fresh videos published monthly, click the link below this description.

In this video, Nico recounts his observation of a sasquatch in Oregon’s Mt. Hood National Forest. What began as a routine outing quickly turned into something extraordinary, leaving a lasting impression that demanded further investigation.

Following the encounter, Cliff Barackman of the North American Bigfoot Center returned to the area to search for evidence—and what he discovered adds another compelling layer to this already remarkable account: possible sasquatch footprints found in the same location.

This is more than just a story it’s a documented experience, a careful follow-up, and a glimpse into the ongoing mystery surrounding sasquatch, and the work being done at the NABC.”

Cecilia writes “In 2016 my husband and I were driving in Micanopy Florida. My dad was dating a woman there at the time and she lived in the middle of nowhere. We’re pulling into the clearing her house is on surrounded by woods and an animal runs in front of our car.

For some background, my husband had just gotten into hunting and was a former marine and I was a 21 year old engineering student from Boca Raton, studying at the university of Florida. So I see this thing run in front of our car and my first reaction is excitement. Oh my God it’s a wildlife! because I’m from the most manicured city in Florida.

It’s the fall at night and I remember it being dark haired, not fur, and the first thing I remember my brain trying to do was identify which animal in my roladex that I was seeing. Very quickly, my brain ruled out all of them without me even consciously thinking, and that when I started noticing weird things, it’s legs were very long and very skinny while it was running on all four legs. It did not have any vertical motion it almost glided forward like a spider. It reminds me of how a possessed person runs in a horror movie.

By the time I finish processing that it turns to look at us while it’s still running in front of our car and when I saw its face, it gave me the most chilling feeling. I don’t know how to describe it other than I would place it in the canine category, but extremely evil. This absolutely rocked my world because I was an atheist at the time and had no other explanation for what I was looking at other than this is some paranormal ass shit.

It runs on off my dog is freaking out in the backseat. I turned to look at my husband and I said Chad what the fuck was that and he just stared ahead and said that was a coyote.

I quickly realized because I know my husband does not stupid and I know he knows I’m not stupid that whatever we just saw must have scared him past being able to acknowledge it in that moment because if we talked about it, it would have made it real.

A few years later, and we hadn’t discussed the sighting and we were in a long distance relationship due to work. We were at our friend’s wedding drunk in the shower having fun and I said to him out of nowhere you know that was not a coyote that night. And he said I know I was so scared. I never wanted to think about it again.

That was probably 2018. It took me a few years to figure out what the hell we even saw because everyone’s heard of Bigfoot but nobody knows what a dog man is. It was actually listening to your podcast where someone described seeing one where my husband and I were like oh my god that’s what we saw.”

We will also be speaking with Scott. Scott writes “I’m from Anoka Minnesota and I’ve experienced a few interesting things during my time I the outdoors. Around 2008 I was in the boundary waters in Northern Minnesota. I was drinking coffee on a stump overlooking a small bay. About 120 yards or so I noticed a large dark colored stump sticking up about 8-9 feet. It was a different shade from the other trees in the area. I remember it looking very odd. At the time I didn’t really think about sasquatch but when one of you recent episodes mentioned the same thing the hair on the back of my neck stood up and the memory of that stump vividly came to mind. Weird coincidence. I was in the boundary waters again and at the same campsite. The trip went off without a hitch but a year later one of my buddys brought something up. He said one night when he was the last one up he heard two sets of three tree knocks right outside the firelight. He said it sounded like a MLB player smashing a bat against a tree. He is a solid dude and I could never see him lying about something like that.

Early June 2025. My wife and I have a camper West of Grand Rapids Minnesota. It’s at a resort on Bass lake, Pincherry Grove resort, I would rather not disclose the location publicly. I was at the camper by my self and it was about 2 in the morning. I was waiting for the coals to die out in my fire. The night was very calm and very quiet, minus a few loons. One of these things ran in front of me about 15 yards away, it lasted about two to three seconds. It scared the absolute shit out of me. I pushed myself back into my chair so hard I don’t know how I didn’t tip it over. The main thing I saw was the legs, it was running very smoothly. I estimate it to be around 9 feet tall and it had lighter splotches on its fur. It seemed like it was side eyeing me as it ran by. I have a ton of details, more than I care to type out. From my encounter I have some interesting theories on why the calf to thigh ratio is so much different than ours. I believe its for traversing elevation more efficiently.”

From The Shadows writes “The Jersey Devil is said to stalk New Jersey’s Pine Barrens. Did a father and son capture photographic evidence of the cryptid? Mike and Stefaun drove out to Leeds Point near Oyster Creek to see what the legend was all about. What happened next has sent them on a quest to discover what secrets the area is willing to share with them.”

Paranormal Portal writes “Tonight, on the Paranormal Portal, we are diving into the Dogman and more as I welcome author and Researcher JOEDY COOK to the show!”

In New Jersey, a woman and her son come face to face with a winged beast. Is it the legendary Jersey Devil? A South Carolina town is terrorised by a giant lizard creature. Are reptoids from underground worlds rising up? And in Wisconsin, a bloodthirsty giant beast with a wolf head appears on a country road at night. Could it have been a werewolf? William Shatner explores these scary encounters with man-beasts and examines whether they are tales of folklore or the truth.

Meagan Medick interviewed Cliff Barackman about Sasquatch. Meagan writes “In this episode of Uncommon Sense, Meagan sits down with one of the most respected names in Bigfoot research: Cliff Barackman, co-host of Animal Planet’s Finding Bigfoot, co-host of Bigfoot and Beyond, and one of the leading voices in Sasquatch investigation for more than 30 years.”

A listener writes “Wes, These recent dogman encounters are happening right up the road from the town I used to live in. I’ve since moved about 45 minutes south toward Woodbury, but it still feels strange to me. That whole area around Plymouth and New London is mostly cornfields with small patches of woods, yet there seem to be a lot of dogman sightings reported there.

What’s interesting is that I rarely hear about Sasquatch sightings in that same area, aside from some older encounters.

I do know a few older locals who believed they encountered something like Bigfoot along the Black Fork back in the early ’80s, before the area became more developed. Between where I live now and Shiloh near where these sightings have been reported there’s public land in Ashland County that connects to Mohican. That’s the same area where I sent you those photos of what looked like possible Sasquatch activity, especially near that footprint.

Honestly, I think far more people have seen things like this than what actually gets talked about.

All three of these locations are close to where I used to live. I still go up to the New London reservoir to fish and snorkel during the summer. Like I said, it’s mostly farmland with scattered woods. At Willard Marsh where I marked that “X” I had an experience while I was out mushroom hunting. I saw something lying along the road that didn’t look like a bear or a Sasquatch. It was longer, more slender, and moving on all fours. I sped up trying to get a closer look.

I’ve also spoken to multiple hunters who’ve reported seeing something tall, lanky, and black crossing through the right of ways in the Willard Marsh area.

Just thought I’d share all of that with you.”